


In Game

by purplepetridish



Series: Het Omegaverse [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, Female Alpha/Male Omega, Near Future, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 01:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11243079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplepetridish/pseuds/purplepetridish
Summary: In Game you can be who you want.(After presenting as an omega, Ethan feels he's lost control over who he was. He always thought that on the rare chance he presented as an omega, he'd be different; he wouldn't be submissive like the others. But, fighting against biology is a lot trickier than he thought. His only escape is in Virtual Reality, where pheromones don't exist).





	In Game

**Author's Note:**

> I've played my share of mmos, but it's been awhile. I had to draw on some memories here.
> 
> This story does not at all take place in the same universe as the previous story in Het Omegaverse. These are all concept stories, though I likely will do some sequels. And please, feel free to use any ideas that strike your fancy in your own writing - that's what I'm hoping for!

The ripening sunrise shone through the sand that swirled around the barren beach. An Alpha man – broad shouldered with overgrown hair and beard - dragged his sword through the sand, leaving a ragged trail behind as he stumbled. The light crashing of the ocean waves, unseen, sounded below the slope of the beach. The rendezvous point that had been agreed upon moments ago – between the shoreline and the large boulder - had to be close. He pulled his heavy desert robes tighter around himself and carried on.

Eventually, he could see two silhouettes up ahead, obscured by the sand scattered in the wind.

“Are you the only two left?” he said when he reached them.

“I think so, Sir Adraken. The Princess and I did a scout around the area. No one else.” Fireheart made the symbol of Fallen Fellows over his head. He was an elf, a blue mage who had recently joined the clan and quickly risen rank. Now he was fourth in command, right below the Princess and Yallin, who were Sir Adraken’s second and third respectively.

“Were you able to get their items, at least?” Adraken asked.

“Yallin and Duke’s were there, but I couldn’t get to them. Gabbro’s items were unfortunately incinerated.”

Adraken nodded, making the sign of Fallen Fellows over his head. “We can rebuild his robes and gloves—“

“—but not the Featherlight Boots,” Fireheart finished.

The Alpha man sighed. “Such a tragedy is unfortunate. We’ll try and find him something of equal value in our wares.” Their clan specialized in raiding for rare items, which they then sold on the market. Surely, there’d be something valuable in their wares that could make up for the loss of Gabbro’s Featherlight boots. Adraken turned to the other member of the clan who had survived. “Princess, I’m glad to see you whole.”

The Princess nodded slightly. It was especially lucky she had survived, as she had the rarest items, things that couldn’t be easily replaced. The most valuable of these was her Moonstone Headdress: an excessively large piece of headwear built of gemstones and stalagmites that rose above her head like a fortress. Her dress was a rare symbol of status and a land far away: she was a Princess from the South, who had been displaced from her homeland in the war.

What more, she had a Crossed Amulet, a rare status symbol of a Southern omega.  
It was difficult to tell from a distance that the Princess was, indeed, an omega. Her formidable Headdress and the large two-handed sword she wielded were not the indications of an omega.

Omegas weren’t soldiers, or sword-wielders. It was not a designation one saw on the battlefield or on a raid; omegas were too vulnerable to the command and will of others. And in the harsh profession of raiding, omegas faced the hindrance of going into heat, or of crossing paths with rival raiding groups (some of which were, in fact, formed around the purpose of raiding villages for omegas), or perhaps worst of all, of joining a clan where the leader wasn’t afraid of using their Alpha influence and had less than savory intentions for the omegas in their clan.

Sir Adraken didn’t know the full story of the Princess’ journey from South to North, the journey she’d had to take after she’d used the war as an excuse to run away from home and an unwanted betrothal. Adraken would be ready to hear the details only when she was ready to tell him. The Princess hadn’t had much choice in the path she’d taken, but she’d managed to survive.

He tried not to think about what would have happened, had the Princess chanced upon a group whose intentions were roughish. She was stronger-headed and stronger-willed than most omegas, but she was still an omega, vulnerable to commands, and with an instinctual difficulty in making her opinions and wants known.

“I suppose we need to try and go back for Yallin and Duke’s items,” Fireheart said. The sun had made it above the horizon, leaving the sky a steady determined blue and the air warmer than it had been.

Sir Adraken scratched his arm. “I’d like to break even on this raid at least. We lost a lot more than we got. There’s a good chance that if we go back we’ll lose even more.”

“Sir,” the Princess said timidly. “But there’s also the matter of honor and sacrifice. Yallin and Duke sacrificed for us, and I think it’s our charge to attempt the same for them.”

“You’d be risking your Moonstone Headdress,” Sir Adraken pointed out.

“Yes. You’re right, but… Yallin lost his Lonely Road Mask.”

Sir Adraken mused on the options. As leader of the clan, the final call was his. The Princess was correct - Yallin, Duke, and Gabbro had been the shields who had lost their items so that the higher ranking members of the clan could get out.

Yallin had even volunteered to risk himself and brave the raid alone, before they had sailed out to this deserted island. He had offered to scout out the raid site and use a Killstone - a rare enchanted item that did mass damage to everything around it, except the wielder. If Adraken had agreed to that, if Yallin had risked only himself and used the Killstone solo, they might not have lost so much. It was Adraken’s lack of foresight that had cost Yallin, Duke, and Gabbro.

“Alright. We’ll go in cautiously. See if we can get their items without waking up the Scorpion that got them. But if we’re at all in danger, we get out as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time.”

He turned back towards the caves they had come from.

**

It was déjà vu – these were the caves they had found not an hour ago. There was the same the eerie quietness to the surrounding trees; and within the caves, the same claustrophobia-inducing tunnels that navigated to the cavern. The cloying air felt just as suffocating and the light scratching of spiders running along the rock to make way for them was somehow more nerve-tingling than it had been before.

Fireheart advised them against casting a spell of Luminescence because it would only enrage the less dangerous inhabitants of the caves and give their group more to worry about. Their main concern was the Scorpion-like creature that had done half their clan in before. But this time, they weren’t here to battle it. They were there to get Yallin and Duke’s items and get out.

The lack of a Luminescence spell left the cave pitch black, and they had to feel their way around the walls, sometimes brushing against textures that Adraken tried not to think about. They only had one whispered argument about which direction to take at a fork; otherwise they were lucky enough to agree upon and remember the route.

There was a shift in the air, a change in pressure as the closed space of the cave gave way to the cavern.

But there was no time to appreciate the more open air; Adraken was thrown back with the force of a heavy blow. And then another. He felt disoriented and it became harder to see as his vision turned red: an indication of quickly dwindling heath. “Fireheart cast Luminescence! Get yourself and the Princess out of here! I’ll take the damage.”

Adraken was relieved when light shone from Fireheart’s direction; at least the other two could get out. But he was confused when he noticed the light wasn’t the usual white of a Luminescence spell, but red. There were few spells that cast red light; however there was one item--.

“Is that—is that a Killstone?!” Adraken voiced incredulously. He looked over, not sure what to expect, maybe a stranger, but instead it was Fireheart holding a Killstone, face glowing in its red aura, an 28 second countdown poised above it.

“Fireheart. You brought a Killstone?” asked the Princess.

Fireheart said nothing, and the timer continued to count down.

“I think he’s going to use it on us,” Adraken said, this time addressing the Princess. He was having trouble believing that to be truth, but there was no other explanation for Fireheart’s lack of response, and the ever dwindling count of the timer.

“Traitor!” the Princess said.

Only rogues and criminals used Killstone’s on other raiders. It left the criminal the only survivor who then retrieved the loot and every player’s precious items.

If only Yallin, Duke, and Gabbro were there, those three dealt high levels of damage and as a group the clan could have taken Fireheart down. But there was no possibility Sir Adraken and the Princess alone could take Fireheart during the 14 seconds they had left on the timer.

The only chance Adraken and the Princess had was to run. Actually, the only chance the Princess had was to run. Adraken couldn’t get up due to the damage he had taken and he expected another blow from the Scorpion any second. “Run Princess!” he shouted. But Fireheart countered, calmly commanding: “Don’t move Princess.”

In the light of the Killstone, Adraken saw that the Princess had frozen. They could play this game until the timer ran out: a direct order from an Alpha to an omega was a difficult thing for an omega to resist, and both Fireheart and Adraken were Alphas. It was the Princess’ weak point on the battlefield. Fireheart was using her omeganess against her.

She was going to lose her Moonstone Headdress. A priceless item. Adraken pulled out one of his transportation spells, and with shaking hands, quickly signed and casted it on her. She disappeared in a blink. There was a flash of red and then Adraken woke up in front of clan commons, in the city of Old Port, two continents away.

With a groan of frustration, he flicked his wrist and opened the game menu, then logged out.

**

The curtains were drawn over the small bedroom window, making the room dark and the pile of laundry on the bed look like a sleeping body. A border of bright light shone around the curtains that guarded the window and the faint thudding and screaming of children could be heard from the apartment above.

Ethan panted as he peeled off the VR suit – the inside was wet, sweaty, and stuck to him. After managing to pull the entire thing off, he collapsed on the bed next to the pile of laundry, then stretched his limbs and cracked his fingers and toes one at a time, feeling the tension in his muscles disappear.

Realizing it was midday and he had at least a half a day’s worth of chores to do, he forced himself up in order to pick the VR suit off the floor. He straightened it and worked the neural frame out, then threw the empty suit on the pile of laundry. He grabbed am empty laundry bag from his closet, scooped the laundry pile into the bag, hoisted it over his shoulder, and walked downstairs.

Mom had left a note on the fridge, telling him to finish with the dishes that had been used for breakfast, but he decided he needed to get out more than anything, so laundry first.

The Laundromat was two blocks away. Before he got there his phone chimed. It was a text from Manny.

_What happened back there? Duke and Gabbro and I woke up in home turf. You and Princess logged out and Fire wouldn’t reply. Did anyone get our stuff?_

_Fire used a Killstone._

_So we ended up using a Killstone anyways! I need to remember not to listen to you, whether you outrank me or not._ In Game, Manny was Yallin, Sir Adraken’s third in command. Out of game, Manny was Ethan’s best friend, a friendship built in toddlerhood from blanket forts and a lot of dragon themed make-believe.

_No, he used a Killstone_ on us. _On me and the Princess._

_?! That’s a 180. So we all lost all our items._

_All of us, except the Princess. I ported her out right before the Killstone hit._

_Like the true Alpha gentleman you are. ;)_

Ethan flushed. He had just reached the Laundromat and the cool air from inside hit his blushing face when he opened the door. _It was a last minute decision to port her. I didn’t want her to lose her Moonstone headdress. If anything I might have upset her by porting her out._

_Yeah, I’d be upset too if I got to keep a Headdress worth 50mil._

_She might be upset because I did it without asking. You know how she is about things like that._

_She can’t stay mad long, not tomorrow._

Ethan swallowed the unexpected lump that caught in his throat, as he put coins into the machine. He looked out the window to the pizza place across the street. That’s where they’d be meeting tomorrow. Well, not at that particular pizza place, but at a pizza place in the Princess’ town. The smell of pizza currently made him nauseous.

The Princess, the girl who had been part of their clan for over two years now, who they had never met in person (she lived a town over); they’d be meeting her in real time tomorrow.

_I really hope ‘she’ isn’t some old pervy alpha, especially not an old pervy alpha dude, especially not one into younger alpha dudes_ , Manny texted.

_She's not. She showed us her picture._ Long dark hair and deep brown eyes, a front tooth that stood out a little crooked. She was the sweet and strong-willed omega who Ethan admired and looked up to, the beautiful girl form the picture.

The type of omega Ethan would make the same sacrifices for as he did In Game. They were just like their character’s In Game – honorable and loyal to each other to a fault, with the ability to respectively lead and follow effortlessly.

Except unlike Sir Adraken, Ethan wasn’t an Alpha.

**

“Clean the dishes before bed,” Mom called over the couch after dinner.

The words whispered around Ethan’s head like an enticing secret or the repetitive call of a parrot. _Clean the dishes. Clean the dishes._ Ethan’s mind had been becoming fuzzy lately and orders rolled around his brain so that he sometimes even mouthed them back to himself. Even that innocent order from his beta Mother repeated in his head over again and he felt compelled to do as she had said and show her the results proudly.

It was worse with other people; with Alphas especially. _Can I borrow a pencil?_ An Alpha in one of his classes had asked earlier that day, and Ethan had handed it to him, forgetting he had nothing else to write with.

Ethan remembered a time not too long ago, when he had willpower to say no to things. The old Ethan looked on him from a distance. He’d long given up trying to get new Ethan’s attention. The person he used to be was slipping away.

But this was just the natural development of things wasn’t it – as soon as Ethan had presented as an omega, he’d mourned and even resisted but knew what his fate would be.

And now, the calm acceptance he sometimes felt towards his newly submissive personality, even that was the thought of an omega, wasn’t it? What about the agreement he’d made with himself years ago, the contract that he’d battle against his own mind before he became submissive, back-bending omega?

The only place the old Ethan could claw his way back was In Game. There were no scents In Game, only roleplay.

**

As Ethan had suspected, it seemed the Princess wasn’t happy about being ported out of the cave as she texted, _‘We need to talk, meet me at the hill,’_ later that night.

After putting the neural frame back in the freshly washed VR suit, and slipping it on, Ethan pressed the button in him palm. His bedroom gave way to the afternoon sky of Old Port, the city in which he had spawned after dying in the caves. He looked down at himself: trousers and a woolen shirt. Back to peasanthood it was then. 

Old Port was aptly named, as it was a port, and it was old: the streets were made of suspect wooden boards: planks missing, some rotting. The entire city was raised above the beach and ocean because it wasn’t uncommon for the tide to rise high. The walkways were thin and cramped which gave fish merchants an edge in harassing and blocking passersby until they convinced them to make a purchase. Sir Adraken tried to avoid their solicitation by keeping his head up and his stride purposeful, despite the fact that he didn’t look very intimidating in his cloth.

The Guild was tucked more inland, away from the water. The sign that hung in front of their door was decorated with the symbol of a bow and arrow pointing up -- the symbol of the local goddess of the hunt who they prayed to before raids. Even further inland was the hill, where the Princess had asked to meet.

It was a raised ridge of land above the port, created by erosion over the years. There was always a danger of running into less savory folks up there, but they were mostly weaker, lower levels.

He finally spotted that Princess near the small abandoned outpost that was their general meeting point when the Princess referred to, ‘the hill.’

“You look…comfy,” she said, eyeing him up and down.

He shrugged. “I was starting to find my enchanted desert robes a bit heavy anyways.” He looked out over the water. The sun was now only a tiny sliver above the horizon, leaving the sky a bruised pink.

“The sunset is gorgeous, right?” said the Princess, noting the direction of his gaze. “It’s funny that in real life, I hardly stop to watch the sunset. But somehow it’s easier to In Game.”

Sir Adraken was taken aback but the Princess’ sudden use of meta. She hardly _ever_ broke character to talk about life outside the Game. He didn’t know how to respond and so focused on her first comment about the beauty of the sunset. “I guess if I’m going to get scolded, I’d rather scolded up here. I hope you know the only reason I got you out was because I didn’t want you to lose the Moonstone Headdress. You’re powerful with that, and our clan needs it. But I wasn’t trying to…make decisions for you, I know you hate that.” Omegas were, after all, sometimes sensitive about such things.

“I don’t care about losing the Moonstone Headdress, but I hope you realize that it’s me who makes me powerful and not my Headdress.”

“I do realize that,” he said sheepishly.

She quirked a smile at him. “I’m actually grateful you ported me out and the traitor didn’t get it. If anything…I felt kind of bad, that I didn’t just run out. There’s staying in character, but really, Fireheart broke character by being an ass, so I could have just turned the whole omega thing down a notch.”

Once more Sir Adraken was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. There was that surprise meta again. Sure, it wasn’t like there were any scents In Game for omegas, betas, and Alphas to actually be affected by but it was roleplay…it was part of the game to act like who your character was. “I…I mean it’s roleplay.” Sir Adraken shrugged, feeling quite uncomfortable. 

“I’m sorry.” The Princess hesitated before blurting out, “I’m nervous about tomorrow.”

Sir Adraken’s heart kicked up speed at that. “Well you’re not alone. I don’t think I’ve had a normal heartbeat for the last week.”

“No – I mean, yes I’m nervous about meeting you, definitely. That’s to be expected. We’re so close and I want this to go well. But what I mean is -- I’m nervous things won’t be the same – here, In Game – after we meet in real life.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” He was aware that he was trying to convince himself with those words as well. “At least, I don’t think we have to worry. This-,” he indicated Old Port and the ocean, The Princess, and himself, “-can’t be that different from real life.”

_Except he wasn’t a sword-fighting Alpha with the commandeering ability to run a clan._

“I’m not who I say I am,” the Princess sighed suddenly.

“What do you mean?” _I really hope ‘she’ isn’t some old pervy alpha._ Manny’s words came out of nowhere, echoing in Ethan’s mind.

“In this game we can be anyone we want, right? I’m not exactly who I say I am. That’s all. I want to enjoy what we have right now, while it lasts. Our last free night together.” She looked down then sat on the grass, facing the direction of the now grey sky.

He had so many questions, but was it fair to interrogate her, when he hadn’t even admitted to his own lies? So instead, he sat down next to her and together they chatted about other things while watching the grey sky turn dark and starry.

**

“I’m visiting my mother up north. She’s in the hospital right now. Where are you headed,” asked the middle aged Alpha man who had sat in Manny’s chair after he’d left for the bathroom. The middle aged Alpha was much too close for Ethan’s liking, leaning over him, and putting a hand right by Ethan’s leg.

Ethan words had gotten stuck in his throat when he’d smelt the man’s Alpha scent, and he hadn’t been able to say anything, despite the fact that “hey, that’s my friend Manny’s chair get out,” might have been useful to mention. Luckily, Manny was there to save the day, with his Alpha scent and a, “that’s my seat, and my omega, move along.”

Instead of feeling grateful, Ethan couldn’t stop the irritation that coupled the shame of having to be rescued. He found himself frequently irritated with Manny, actually – but he was aware it was unfair. It wasn’t Manny’s fault Ethan’s genetics had failed him. 

Their relationship had changed after Ethan’s presentation as an omega; Ethan had become sullen and irritable and often impatient with his friend. He doubted their friendship would ever be what it had been. Just another loss he could add to the pile of losses that had been growing since presentation.

 

“I think my legs are going numb,” Ethan said, shivering as they boarded the bus.

“You’re just nervous, you need to get a hold of yourself,” Manny said.

“And how are you so calm?”

“Because you’re the one who has a major crush on Princess, so you’ve got that at stake. All I’m hoping to get out of this is another friend.”

“You’re an Alpha. If anything, she’ll probably be crushing on you, and she’s pretty so…you should be nervous.”

Manny simply shrugged, and somehow that response brought on Ethan’s anger again. Manny would likely be the one the Princess was drawn to and he was so casual about it. Didn’t Manny see how lucky he was – going to meet and talk to a beautiful omega woman who already had a good connection with them. Soon enough Manny and the Princess would start dating and they’d forget all about the pathetic omega who masqueraded as an Alpha on an online game. Ethan decided not to talk Manny for the rest of the bus ride, instead choosing to stare out the window sullenly at the passing farms and run-down industry. At least he forgot about his nerves.

**

“Ok, she’s not here, maybe we should head back.”

Manny scoffed. “We haven’t even gone in the restaurant yet. You think she’s going to be standing outside it with a sign?”

The pizza diner was fairly empty. There was a father and child in the corner, and an old couple in the back, and toward the door – a woman with dark hair sitting at a booth by herself, her back facing them.

Manny slid into the booth opposite her and Ethan followed suit, able to look up only with effort.

She was the girl from the picture. Dark hair and dark eyes. Dimples and that crooked tooth in her smile. She was more beautiful than the girl in the picture, actually. 

But that scent, and that calm, fuzzy headedness that Ethan suddenly felt come over him. _No_. The Princess could not be an Alpha. The Princess, the one person who he could be the old Ethan around, could _not_ be an Alpha.

The Princess smiled at Ethan, recognizing him as Sir Adraken from the picture he had sent. She took a deep breath, obviously scenting him. “Well this is funny – isn’t it? And maybe not the bad kind of funny, but the really good kind?”

_This is all wrong._ He heard those words in his head, but all he could say was: “Yes. Not the bad kind at all.”


End file.
